


Ascent

by Skylark



Series: The Very Best [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon, Developing Friendships, M/M, Mutual Admiration, Shinoh-chihou | Sinnoh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 18:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4189914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suga takes Kageyama on a tour of the Pokemon League castle, gesturing to the library, the dining hall, the spacious practice rooms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ascent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ideallyqualia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/gifts).



"Congratulations."

"T-Thank you."

Suga raises an eyebrow. "You don't look very happy about it," he chides. "People don't become League Champion every day, you know."

Kageyama nods stiffly, and the words between them go unspoken: _It's not every day that a Champion loses, either._

\--

Suga takes him on a tour of the Pokemon League castle, gesturing to the library, the dining hall, the spacious practice rooms. "And this is your bedroom," he says, "top floor, last door to the right. Don't forget." Kageyama shoots him a confused look, so he clarifies softly, "When I first became champion, I got lost a lot. It took me a few months before I could get to the dining hall in time for breakfast."

Kageyama's staring at him with his mouth slightly ajar. Suga winks at him and swings the door open.

Kageyama steps inside cautiously, as if he's intruding, and pulls up short when he sees that the bedroom is clean and devoid of personalization. He glances at Suga before he can stop himself. Suga smiles back, but doesn't feel compelled to explain that he moved the last of his stuff out last week.

"Home sweet home, right?" Suga says lightly. Kageyama makes an agreeing noise, but his eyes seem uncertain.

Suga smiles. "Come on. There's one last place I wanted to show you."

\--

Kageyama seems more comfortable in the open air, as Suga thought he might. He gazes around the roof with surprise and no small amount of delight, stepping forward as if he's forgotten that Suga is beside him.

"Did you ever battle up here?" Kageyama asks, eyeing the arena lines painted across the roof. Suga somehow isn't surprised that Kageyama's first question is about battling.

"Sometimes," he replies. "A former flying-type Elite Four member used to battle here, but mostly I came up when I wanted to think." Suga liked to let his swanna stretch her wings up here when he could.

He walks over to the edge of the roof and sits down. "You're from Eterna City, right?" he calls over his shoulder, beckoning Kageyama closer. "The view from this side is my favorite; on a clear day like this you can see Mt. Coronet. Look."

Kageyama stands beside him, his shadow falling across Suga as he leans forward and squints. Suga tugs on his pant leg; "Sit down?" he invites, unable to stop himself from being worried about Kageyama's balance. He knows they both have pokemon more than capable of saving him if he falls, but— _better safe than sorry,_ he thinks.

Kageyama's slow to sit next to him, and once he does he returns to his looking out across the landscape. Suga tucks his blue scarf a little closer around his neck and breathes out little clouds of white in the cold air, enjoying the breeze that brushes past his cheeks.

After a while Suga asks, "Feel better?"

Kageyama jumps and whips his head to face him, startled. 

Suga smiles at him. "I know it's a lot to take in at once. You seemed like you could use a break."

Kageyama opens his mouth and then closes it again, a look of frustration crossing his face. He glances back at the region spread below them, perhaps searching for the tiny glint of green that is Eterna City at the foot of the mountain, before he returns his attention to Suga. "Why are you being so nice to me?" he asks. His voice is careful, but Suga can feel the pressure behind it. This is the question that Kageyama's been struggling to avoid, the question that's been forcing his back too straight and pushing his speech toward over-formality. 

Suga doesn't answer immediately, instead noting the relieved, half-defensive slump of Kageyama's shoulders, the way his mouth twists with nerves. 

Then he ruffles Kageyama's hair.

"You're a good kid," he says with a grin. "I think I feel better leaving the league to you now."

Kageyama splutters and ducks and Suga eases up on him, giving him a chance to recover his dignity. Once he's straightened his hair, though, he rounds on Suga again. "I saw you once when you visited Eterna City's gym," he says, insistent.

"Oh, for the gym leader review?" Suga laughs. "Don't worry, those battles aren't like the ones against challenging trainers. It's more a formality than anything. Besides, you already got all the badges, didn't you?"

Kageyama shakes his head, fists clenching. "That's not what I meant," he snaps.

Bewildered, Suga leans back and waits for him to find the right words.

"You were...really cool," Kageyama finally manages. "You didn't use pokemon that were flashy or had an impact, but you just—your _teamwork_. It was amazing. Even when I battled you here, I thought that."

Suga stills as Kageyama talks, and the smile fades from his face. When Kageyama's done, he looks up to find Suga watching him with a cool expression, as if he's sizing him up. It's the same look he felt on him when he first approached Suga, sitting on the Champion's throne; it's the same look Suga gave him when he first said _Congratulations_ earlier that day.

"You're incredibly talented," Suga tells him, and the words are neither warm nor harsh—just plain, and honest. "You're a natural at strategizing and maximizing upon your pokemon's strengths, and you use items to their full potential." 

Kageyama absorbs all this with a blank expression. He's clearly used to praise.

"But you're not perfect," Suga continues, and Kageyama's eyes widen. Suga cocks his head. "You need to spend more time getting to know your pokemon."

"But you just said I—"

"There's a difference between knowing your pokemon's _abilities_ and actually _knowing_ them," Suga says, folding his arms. "When was the last time you just hung out with them?"

"I let them out of their poke balls every day to get proper exercise," Kageyama replies.

"Not trained with them, _spent time_ with them. Played with them. Took a vacation."

Kageyama stares at him, uncomprehending, and Suga sighs. "I know you take amazing care of your pokemon, but do you..." he hesitates, aware that his next question is cheesy. "Do you _love_ them?"

Kageyama blinks at him. "We're partners," he says. "Isn't that enough?"

Suga scratches at the back of his head, thinking. "Listen," he says slowly. "After I'm done orienting you, I was thinking of journeying around Sinnoh. It's been a while since I got to enjoy myself, and I wanted to see how much things had changed since I started working for the League. How about you come with me?"

"But I'm the champion now, I have duties—"

Suga waves a hand. "Call it a goodwill tour, if you'd like," he says. "It'd be good for people to see their new champion anyway, and..." He winks, all mischief. "I think I could still probably teach you a thing or two."

Kageyama licks his lips and then glances back out at the region sprawled below them. He's fresh from his gym challenge, Suga knows, but somehow he gets the feeling Kageyama didn't really _sightsee._ He thinks of all the places he could show Kageyama, the ocean depths and hidden caves full of ancient mythological lore, and grins at the thought.

"Come on," he says, nudging Kageyama lightly on the shoulder. "Live a little. You're the Sinnoh champion now, after all!"

Kageyama seems taken off-guard by Suga's open smile, and the fact that Suga is inviting him at all. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Suga says. "I'll be with you the whole time if things go wrong, anyway."

There's another small pause where Kageyama thinks it over. Then he nods to himself, and Suga's eyes brighten. "If—if you'll have me," he says.

Suga laughs and throws a friendly arm around Kageyama's shoulders. "Let's go on an adventure," he replies.


End file.
